Oscar Pistorius Released from Prison After Serving Time for GF Reeva Steenkamp’s Murder

South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, 37, was released from prison Friday after serving part of his sentence for the 2013 shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The South African Department of Correctional Services released a statement confirming "that Oscar Pistorius is now a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024. He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home."

Pistorius, known as the Blade Runner because of the prosthetic legs he uses while running, shot 29-year-old Reeva through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day. His defense argued that Oscar genuinely believed there was an intruder in his Pretoria house when he began firing shots.

He was convicted of culpable homicide, a similar charge to manslaughter, in 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison. People reports that conviction was later overturned, and he was found guilty of murder. In 2016, Pistorius was then sentenced to 13 years and five months behind bars.

It was announced back in November that Oscar would be released after serving only half his sentence. Reuters reports he will now be under Department of Correctional Services supervision through December 2029.

According to the BBC, he will need to report to a parole officer and inform them if he moves or gets a job. A lawyer for Steenkamp’s family also told Reuters that the athlete will be required to take gender-based violence classes and continue anger management therapy.

After Pistorius’ release, Steenkamp's mother June Steenkamp opened up about the loss of her daughter, a model and law school graduate, in a statement to NBC News.

"Now, almost 11 years later, the pain is still raw and real, and my dear late husband Barry and I have never been able to come to terms with Reeva's death or the way she died."